The House | We will be judged by how we responded to climate collapse, not Westminster psychodrama

5 min read46 min

After nearly a decade of Conservative psychodrama, we cannot afford more lost years where Parliament fails to address the big challenges facing the country. The most fundamental duty of a Government is to protect its citizens, in the here and now, while also protecting them from foreseeable risks in the future. And the Government is failing to meet the moment, distracted by by-elections and leadership challenges.

Even before they began plotting to remove the Prime Minister, this Labour Government had learnt all the wrong lessons from the Conservatives’ time in office, gradually chipping away at Parliamentary scrutiny and weakening democratic accountability. There have been too many key announcements made outside the Chamber, and too many important areas not given time for debate. The clearest example is the Government’s failure to give proper time to scrutinise reports in Parliament that go to the heart of our national security, our economy and, ultimately, our very way of life. 

Take the Joint Intelligence Committee’s National Security Assessment on global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, which provides a clear picture of what the near future may hold. It shows that the loss of nature and biodiversity collapse is no longer just an environmental issue. It is now a direct threat to our national security, economy, and way of life. One of the most alarming projections is that a worsening global food supply could leave the UK food system increasingly vulnerable to hostile states. Another is that due to climate breakdown, the report says GDP could be 12% lower than it would otherwise have been by 2030. This fact, which was left out of the redacted report, was only revealed by ITV’s investigation, and is deeply problematic for the Government given that it has put so much stall on growth policy and failed to recognise that a healthy natural environment is fundamental to the operating of the economy. Climate-driven migration will also increase pressure on national infrastructure and contribute to more polarised politics. 

The only reason we know anything about these redacted reports is because of a freedom of information request from Green Alliance, which forced the Government to release the information. I first called for Parliament to be given time to scrutinise the report on 22 January. Since then, I have written to the Leader of the House, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asking for a response. 

Amid all of this, in the last week, another report was published. This time, from the Government’s own watchdog, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), making it clear that we are dangerously ill-prepared for the impacts of climate change. After twenty years of successive Governments’ failure to properly confront the climate crisis, the CCC has now laid out a clear pathway for the action needed to better protect communities, infrastructure and essential services from the worsening impacts of extreme weather. Among the most dire warnings is that, in just a couple of decades, 9 in 10 of our homes are at risk of overheating. Water supply shortages may exceed five billion litres per day. And 40°C heatwaves will become the new normal across the UK, potentially leading to an additional 10,000 heat-related deaths per year. Without action, the Committee is clear that an increase of up to 4°C by the end of the century remains a possibility. To put it simply, if that happens, we won’t be able to adapt. There are no mitigations that will fully protect our food systems, infrastructure, economy or public health from the scale of disruption such a world would bring.

These are issues with profound long-term consequences, yet they have received no Parliamentary time and far too little media attention. The only logical conclusion is that the Government seems to have decided it is easier to avoid discussing these reports and confronting these warnings than to spell out what it plans to do. I understand the issues are very difficult, but it’s all the more reason to start addressing them sooner rather than later. Ministers know that the implications for food prices, the cost of living and national security are serious. Yet, instead of leading an open debate about how we respond and proposing a blueprint for where we go from here, they appear to be trying to avoid the issue and hoping it goes away.

Whoever leads this Government after September must have a laser focus on the transformative change needed to tackle the climate and nature emergency, and with it the cost of living crisis. The gravity of the warnings means there is no time to waste. The Government must focus on building the resilience of our food and energy systems to prepare the country for increasingly extreme conditions. While this is happening, we also need to heed the warnings of the dangers of ecosystem collapse.

What this would mean in practice is investing in flood defences, starting a programme of mass home insulation to cope with colder winters, and adapting buildings for hotter summers. All while preparing the public for what is coming, including opening mass cooling centres during extreme heat events and supporting communities in adapting their homes, workplaces, and daily lives to a rapidly changing climate.

We have a clear choice here: politicians can continue to be consumed by political theatre, or finally confront the realities of climate breakdown. Future generations will rightfully judge us on whether we rose to the moment, whether we acted on the warnings, or whether we kicked the can down the road yet again. The threats posed by our ecosystem’s collapse are no longer abstract, and the Government should take them with the seriousness they deserve. Ultimately, if the Government fails to prepare the country for it before the consequences become immeasurably worse. We will all pay the price.